An island we have heard about since we were implanted this "advert style" image of paradise. The visions of white sand, tropical beaches, great breaks, amazing coral reefs, smiling locals, exquisite food, spirituality, oms & incense and a group of hippies talking about peace, love and empathy.

Leaving Flores behind wasn't going to be comfortable. The most economic way to get out of there was to take another Pelni ferry. If the first onehad been enough shit to scare the average European, the second one was probably worse. This time, the 28 hour ship ride was a complete nightmare. A bigger vessel, which means more people and more load. To make things worse, the first hours of our trip were spent on the lowest deck of the ship. Shit… yes, this is a word that can summarize the whole experience. The heat, humidity and wretched smell of urine, sweet, shit a kretek smoke was too much. It has been the first time on this trip where we have gotten nauseous because of a particular situation. The only way to combat this feeling was by applying tiger balm directly underneath our noses. The burning eucalyptus, menthol scent made the situation slightly more bearable. To our luck, on the first stop, we managed to change to a higher deck with more ventilation, making the situation easier to cope with.